For accreditation and programmatic decision making, education school administrators use inter-rater reliability analyses to judge credibility of student-teacher assessments. Although weak levels of agreement between university-appointed supervisors and cooperating teachers are usually interpreted to indicate that the process is not being…

Although the importance of field experience is supported and attended to by teacher education programs across the United States, there have been numerous national reports and research findings stressing the need for major improvements in the preparation of teachers with an emphasis on more authentic experiences. Quality field experiences have the…

Set in an undergraduate Secondary English Education Program, this qualitative study draws on theories of power, positioning, and identity to explore how positions of power affect teacher identity construction. Drawn from a larger study, the authors examine how one preservice teacher negotiated positions of power with students in ways that enabled…

The high teacher attrition and early-career exodus of beginning teachers suggest that traditional methods fall short of providing the support needed by beginning teachers. This qualitative study examined the challenges encountered by student teachers during their practicum experience. Findings suggest that the attrition rate may be at least…

Using Kegan's (1982, 1994) theory of constructive developmentalism, this study focused on the way in which the teacher candidates defined success in student teaching. The candidates differed in their personal epistemologies or what Kegan (1982) called orders of consciousness, which referred to the different ways an individual made meaning of…

The field-based mentoring of student teachers is often an idiosyncratic and nuanced practice in which mentors' conceptualizations of their interactions with student teachers are generated through personal experiences with teacher education. If teacher educators and programs are to strengthen the tie between campus and field-based teacher…

This article chronicles the perspectives of two teacher candidates who displayed comfort with cultural issues and teaching for social justice, in contrast with many of their peers in the program who were uncomfortable with diversity. Their field experiences in a piloted urban reading practicum are documented, as part of a partnership with a…

This study investigated characteristics and attributes of the student teaching experience to better understand what makes a quality student teaching experience. This article reflects a holistic approach by addressing the overall context of a quality student teaching experience that includes the environment, characteristics of successful…

This article examines a unique approach and a new tradition to encouraging student teacher reflection over time. The concept is based on a collection of vignettes titled "Teaching Ms. Kerbin", which represent the collective reflections of a group of three student teachers. Seven major points of concern are addressed: (1) the first day, (2) working…

This study used interviews and other artifacts collected during student teaching as the basis for rating 13 elementary cooperating teachers on their supervisory effectiveness. Once highly effective cooperating teachers were differentiated from their less effective peers, researchers used ex post facto methods to identify background and…

Documentation is sparse regarding outcomes associated with teacher education portfolios and the quality of the reflections contained within the portfolios. This collective case study of six teacher candidates enrolled in an elementary teacher education program at a large midwestern university explores the outcomes of developing a portfolio based…

Lack of communication between cooperating teachers and preservice teachers is one of the most commonly reported problems during field experiences. To provide more opportunity for feedback during preservice teachers' clinical experiences, a large elementary education program in a midwestern university implemented the use of peer feedback practices…

When student teachers experience difficulty during lesson implementation, seasoned cooperating teachers choose among 6 alternative strategies by which to assist. Collectively called "cooperating teacher I's," the strategies are as follows: ignore, intervene, interject, interact, interrupt, and intercept. Appropriate use of these strategies can be…

Technology[superscript 3] is a grant that helped 3 groups of stakeholders (university faculty and supervisors, cooperating teachers, and teacher candidates) with 3 essential technology components (hardware, software, and technology learning support) through a 3-pronged approach based on training, modeling, and mentoring to use technology. Faculty…

This paper reports on a professional development intervention coupled with an empirical research study focused on a mentor teacher study group. An unanticipated outcome of the study group was an evident development in the sense of accountability displayed by participants toward the work of teacher education in their school. In effect, teachers'…